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Television AI China Apple

Jon Stewart's Apple TV Plus Show Ends, Reportedly Over Coverage of AI and China (theverge.com) 115

Posted by BeauHD from the behind-the-scenes dept.
Shakrai writes: Multiple outlets are reporting that Apple TV Plus has cancelled Jon Stewart's popular show The Problem with Jon Stewart, reportedly over editorial disagreements with regards to planned stories on the People's Republic of China and AI. Fans and haters of Apple will both recall that Apple recently made changes to AirDrop, one of the few effective means Chinese dissidents and protesters had for exchanging information off-grid at scale, and will ask why Apple is apparently not only willing, but eager, to carry water for the PRC, overriding both human rights and practical business concerns in the process. "Apple approached Stewart directly and expressed its need for the host and his team to be 'aligned' with the company's views on topics discussed," reports The Verge, citing The Hollywood Reporter. "Rather than falling in line when Apple threatened to cancel the show, Stewart reportedly decided to walk."
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Jon Stewart's Apple TV Plus Show Ends, Reportedly Over Coverage of AI and China More

Jon Stewart's Apple TV Plus Show Ends, Reportedly Over Coverage of AI and China

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  • 1984 (Score:5, Insightful)

    by The Evil Atheist ( 2484676 ) on Friday October 20, 2023 @10:03PM (#63941099)
    Who knew that Apple's 1984 ad was an ad about itself, but actually on the other side?

    It's as if those who cry most about freedom wants it just for only themselves.

    • Re:1984 (Score:5, Insightful)

      by Powercntrl ( 458442 ) on Friday October 20, 2023 @10:19PM (#63941111) Homepage

      Who knew that Apple's 1984 ad was an ad about itself, but actually on the other side?

      People have been saying that since the moment Apple started using DRM to lock you out of your own hardware. Apple has been an incredible control freak over their platforms for quite some time now. It's no surprise at all they'd be carrying the same mindset over into their foray into the entertainment biz.

    • Re: (Score:1)

      by Anonymous Coward

      Apple treats 1984 as a how-to guide.

    • Smash your telescreens, comrades!

    • Re:1984 (Score:4, Funny)

      by fahrbot-bot ( 874524 ) on Friday October 20, 2023 @11:51PM (#63941313)

      It's as if those who cry most about freedom wants it just for only themselves.

      Like the ironically named, Republican US House "Freedom Caucus".

      [oh, and Freedom Fries :-) ]

      • It's more like Freedom Circus, given their current game of musical chairs with the speaker position.

        • I'll suggest that to them, but don't know how well it will go over. Probably better than my alternative, though: :-)

          "A shit-show, inside a clown car, parked in a dumpster fire."

      • Freedom Circus are a bunch of morons. They really have nothing whatsoever to do with freedom. They're the worst of the worst in either party, and their sole goal appears to be to cause disruption and chaos. So you've got the pedophile protector, the actual pedophile, the Georgian carpet-bagger and conspiracy theorist, and so forth.

        If you want to engage in a grope fest with your boyfriend in a porno theater, then go for it. But to do it in a family friendly theater is just sick. Now to do all that while y

    • That was not an Apple advertisement, it was a preview of their Apple TimeMachine that went wrong and foretold of a dark future. They quickly rebranded it and hushed up the project.

  • The Problem with Jon Stewart... (Score:3)

    by geekmux ( 1040042 ) on Friday October 20, 2023 @10:08PM (#63941105)

    ...is he could see this coming so well he called it from day one.

    • Re: (Score:2)

      by xeoron ( 639412 )
      Maybe it will get shopped around and return elsewhere under the same name or slightly different one with minor change in format. You know, like what happened to Politically Incorrect.

      • Maybe it will get shopped around and return elsewhere under the same name or slightly different one with minor change in format. You know, like what happened to Politically Incorrect.

        That would be his fourth attempt.

        Comedy Central.

        HBO (I don't think that even actually aired).

        AppleTV+.

        ???

        Somehow, methinks the problem may actually be with Jon Stewart. . .

  • Remember folks (Score:3, Insightful)

    by Rosco P. Coltrane ( 209368 ) on Friday October 20, 2023 @10:12PM (#63941109)

    That's the same Apple that's oh-so respectful of your privacy. Real trustworthy company right there...

    The silver lining here is that perhaps the die-hard Apple fanbois will finally get back to reality and see yet another greedy unprincipled corporation feeding them BS for what it really is.

    • Re:Remember folks (Score:4, Insightful)

      by geekmux ( 1040042 ) on Friday October 20, 2023 @10:24PM (#63941123)

      The silver lining here is that perhaps the die-hard Apple fanbois will finally get back to reality and see yet another greedy unprincipled corporation feeding them BS for what it really is.

      And then what? Convert to the other greedy unprincipled corporation feeding them BS about being 'better'? Or 'different'?

      Gotta love how all those anti-monopoly laws, somehow left us with all these monopolies. That's a silver-lined bag over your head.

    • ... perhaps the die-hard Apple fanbois will finally get back to reality and see yet another greedy unprincipled corporation feeding them BS for what it really is.

      Wow - whatever you've been smoking seems way better than that Kool-Aid the fanbois drank. May I have some?

    • Re: (Score:2, Insightful)

      by quantaman ( 517394 )

      That's the same Apple that's oh-so respectful of your privacy. Real trustworthy company right there...

      The silver lining here is that perhaps the die-hard Apple fanbois will finally get back to reality and see yet another greedy unprincipled corporation feeding them BS for what it really is.

      Well there are several things that are true:

      1) Apple is mostly a hardware company, so they don't need to be in the business of selling ads or otherwise leveraging user information. This allows them to do a fairly good job of respecting its user's privacy.

      2) Apple's philosophy is the walled garden and treating the computer as an appliance, so they don't like to give you a lot of control over their hardware or software (even after you purchased it so it's now yours).

      3) Being a hardware company Apple not only

      • It's not that Apple is good or bad, they a company doing more or less what you'd expect a company to do in their situation.

        I know that Jon Stewart is not a journalist, but he's close enough that: no, I don't expect them to do this. This is well beyond what any company, even the most publicly traded, would do or should be doing with any news organization which falls under their purview.

        Not that this is unheard of in the United States, Trump kept pushing Bezos to censor the Washington Post. But, of course, Bezos didn't do that even if it did cost Amazon some business. Nor would virtually anyone else do that. This is not okay.

        • Re:Remember folks (Score:5, Insightful)

          by Shakrai ( 717556 ) on Friday October 20, 2023 @11:22PM (#63941241) Journal

          Most for-profits that own journalistic enterprises maintain a wall of separation between church and state as it were. Even shows that blur the boundaries between journalism and entertainment are afforded editorial discretion, e.g., Last Week Tonight with John Oliver. Pure comedy shows have a rich history of poking fun at their "business daddy" and I cannot recall an example of one being punished for doing so.

          I am flabbergasted by everything about this. Not least of which, Apple thinking Jon Stewart would play ball. Did they watch/read any of his work before they signed him? Did they not realize the independently wealthy (he's not Oprah rich but he’s worth ~100M) can’t be blackmailed into silence when you threaten their paycheck?

          WTF is in the water at Cupertino? This is mind numbingly stupid. I hope this goes viral and generates backlash at every level of society. This is seriously not okay.

          • Re: (Score:2)

            by AmiMoJo ( 196126 )

            They wanted a show to launch their new streaming service, and they got it. Maybe the ratings weren't all that good, who knows. They have plenty of other hit shows, and benefit from bundling it with hardware and other products.

            If anyone is the fool here it was Stewart, thinking that Apple wouldn't simply discard him the moment it suited them. The fact that they do business in China at all shows that corporate interests and profits will always trump doing the right thing at Apple.

            • Re: (Score:2)

              by skam240 ( 789197 )

              Maybe you have a point but Jon Stewart is of a sort that I really doubt he went into his relationship with Apple with rose colored glasses on. Corporate excess and other bad behavior was a favorite topic on the Daily Show when he was host. He probably hoped he could power through shows on these topics while also knowing that he's financially well off enough at this point that he could walk any time he wanted if they tried to stop him and likely had a contract with them that reflected that.

            • They wanted a show to launch their new streaming service, and they got it. Maybe the ratings weren't all that good, who knows. They have plenty of other hit shows, and benefit from bundling it with hardware and other products.

              If anyone is the fool here it was Stewart, thinking that Apple wouldn't simply discard him the moment it suited them. The fact that they do business in China at all shows that corporate interests and profits will always trump doing the right thing at Apple.

              His Ratings have been in the tank for over a year:

              https://screenrant.com/problem... [screenrant.com]

          • WTF is in the water at Cupertino?

            money.

        • It's not that Apple is good or bad, they a company doing more or less what you'd expect a company to do in their situation.

          I know that Jon Stewart is not a journalist, but he's close enough that: no, I don't expect them to do this. This is well beyond what any company, even the most publicly traded, would do or should be doing with any news organization which falls under their purview.

          Not that this is unheard of in the United States, Trump kept pushing Bezos to censor the Washington Post. But, of course, Bezos didn't do that even if it did cost Amazon some business. Nor would virtually anyone else do that. This is not okay.

          That's a good point, journalistic independence is a red line most companies don't cross and Stewart does qualify as a journalist in this regard.

          I suspect this is more a clueless manager who didn't understand the responsibilities of their division than a policy supported by the CEO. But it is a pretty big deal that Apple was sloppy enough, and culturally out to lunch w.r.t. journalistic ethics, that this happened.

        • Big corporations controlling the news is not good. Even controlling the mockery of the news. Such a show should get a "hands off" guarantee before any serious journalist gets involved.

          I do like it when NPR will do a hit piece against a big corporate sponsor of their own, and still include a disclaimer that the company they made look foolish was a sponsor. You WANT the news to bite the hand that feeds them.

      • I can't remember when last time Apple was in business selling hardware parts or individual components, can I say never? Apple is more of in business locking customers in, given no room for flexiblity on choices. They should come with warnings like your data would be at risk of being lost or locked forever if you ever attempt to move over to non-Appleware.
      • 1) is flat out incorrect. Apple is an ad company, selling ads. It doesn't matter how much they make from it. Additionally, they are literally selling you out to Mr Big Bad Privacy Monster Google for billions.

    • Which privacy-respecting smart phone is in your pocket?

    • Re: (Score:2)

      by Shakrai ( 717556 )

      The silver lining here is that perhaps the die-hard Apple fanbois will finally get back to reality and see yet another greedy unprincipled corporation feeding them BS for what it really is.

      Appreciating Apple's products doesn't imply agreement with all of their corporate practices. I appreciate my Volkswagen but recall they cheated on emissions tests. That was easier to forgive than this. I frankly do not know what to do here. This has been confirmed by too many different sources to be totally wrong and Apple's silence says volumes. They need to make a statement on this and soon.

      If they double down I will stop buying their products on principle (although I will still be compelled to use

      • Why isn't it zero? You've never seen them reverse course on censorship... why start now - especially when this even touching mainstream news

        • Re: (Score:2)

          by Shakrai ( 717556 )

          Why isn't it zero? You've never seen them reverse course on censorship... why start now - especially when this even touching mainstream news

          They reversed course on their plan to scan all your photos for CSAM and instead rolled out complete end to end encryption in iCloud. I’m not filled with hope something similar will happen here but my hope is not at zero yet.

  • In al fairness, this is exactly the same as what Hollywood studios do or other companies with sizeable revenue in China - do not bite the hand that feeds you. Yes, we can say how important it is to keep the moral high ground, but how many of us would be that principled if a large percentage of your revenue depended on China?

    • Re: (Score:2)

      by Shakrai ( 717556 )

      It's not just about principle though. This is bad business. For starters, anti-PRC sentiment is one of the few genuinely bipartisan issues in American politics. You've got Uncle Sam bringing anti-trust lawsuits against Big Tech. What do you suppose the consequence to Cupertino will be when this comes to the attention of policymakers in DC?

      Grandstanding Congressmen will shine a very bright light on this. Serious Congressmen (a few actually exist) will draft legislation to punish Apple for this. DOJ wi

      • Yet the "anti-PRC sentiment" is fostered because it is good for business from an American point of view. If you fell for it, you fell for the Apple vs Dell or Apple vs Windows commercials. They both said bad things about each others and you might prefer one or the other, but ultimately they are just trying to get your money. From an American prospective to stop China from becoming a serious technological competition is important. If the issue with China was really Human Rights there would be many other co

        • > many other countries, with a far worse track record, that would be targeted first

          Yup, indeed. They might even try to address their own terrible track record before trying to accuse others.

          Lol, yeah, it's funny. It'll never happen because the USA, especially its politicians, are blind to their own wrongdoings, despite their huge number.

          In this case, of course, they're trying to enable people who want to overthrow the Chinese government. Why on earth wouldn't the Chinese government try to stop that? It's

    • Did you see what happened to Germany in the past year and 8 months?

      A large percentage of their future was bet on constant supply of cheap Russian gas, da?

      And when they got their balls squeezed by a putin over there, they found out it might have been better if they had planned it better.

      the apples and the teslas that happened because of the free world might want to learn this lesson not from experience.

    • Companies ... and countries. My country (Norway) got cancelled by China after the Nobel Peace Prize was awarded to a Chinese human rights activist [wikipedia.org] in 2010. As a result China cancelled Norway, and it was only 6 years later that the relationship was somewhat restored [reuters.com], after which the Norwegian government has been *very* careful not to upset China in any way, shape or form. I don't like how Apple applies Chinese censorship to its global business, but I can emphatize that it must be a major pain to walk the bal

    • It's not that hard actually. Once you've got enough money for a nice home and reliable meals, you don't need that much more. Plenty of billionaires give away money to charities. Apple does not need money from China to be rich. Google does not need money from China to be rich. Instead they've got an addiction that they need to break.

  • Call me cynical, but I imagine that they weren't gangbusters, or a major effort would have been made to keep the show on.

    • The show was apparently a big disappointment, with fewer viewers than anticipated on the basis of his previous show. But, even if it did well, Apple may be sufficiently interested in sucking up to China that it would be willing to forgo the revenue from the show.

      • Re: (Score:3)

        by AuMatar ( 183847 )

        The previous show was on basic cable, at a time when streaming didn't exist, and when it was just being born. This one is on a C list streaming network (and C list might be charitable) in a world of greater fragmentation of the viewer base than any previous time in history. And it now has to compete with short form video as well. Yeah, it was never going to come in the same ballpark as The Daily Show did, and anyone who thought it would is a fool.

    • While Jon Stewart's side of the story is they cancelled due to content, its more likely he's wanting too much money vs the expected returns, and he's utilizing his leverage with the left to pressure them. Is similar content available on other Apple media? If so then this reeks of JS playing the victim card to line his own pockets.

      • While Jon Stewart's side of the story is they cancelled due to content, its more likely he's wanting too much money vs the expected returns, and he's utilizing his leverage with the left to pressure them.

        Is similar content available on other Apple media? If so then this reeks of JS playing the victim card to line his own pockets.

        That could be right.

        I used to watch The Daily Show with John Stewart pretty regularly (not so much with Trevor Noah); but just could never get into The Problem. . .

        It just didn't have the "edginess" of The Daily Show, and, IMHO, it just kind of fell flat.

        Perhaps I wasn't the only one that felt that way.

        Are there any Slashdotters that can say whether Stewart aired stories before on TPWJS that were critical of the PRC? If so, then it would tend to undermine Jon's story alleging Apple's heavyhanded Editorial C

  • Does it matter to Stewart and his audience? (Score:5, Insightful)

    by belmolis ( 702863 ) <billposer.alum@mit@edu> on Friday October 20, 2023 @10:46PM (#63941153) Homepage
    I wonder if, in this day and age, this matters to Stewart and his audience? Can't he keep going on his own? This kind of show doesn't require elaborate production facilities and staff. He can do it at home with a equipment I'm sure he can afford. And he can stream from Youtube or a web site of his own. People don't watch his show because he's on Apple TV - he has an established reputation and should be able to attract his viewers to his own site.

    • Re: (Score:3)

      by pjt33 ( 739471 )

      He might not require more than a podcast mic from the technical side, but I would be surprised if researchers didn't make up a significant chunk of the staff.

    • Re: (Score:2)

      by piojo ( 995934 )

      If it's similar to what he did on The Daily Show, he would need a team of writers and researchers. He would need a part time accountant and HR person. He would need a full time production staff. In short he would need to start a small sized media company. He certainly could, but does he want to?

    • I think you're vastly underestimating the cost of television production. Each episode of The Daily Show (nearest I could find) can cost over $100k and that may not even include residuals. I think it would be more realistic for Jon to continue doing the show as a podcast, if he wants to. Part of the value of that podcast was the other writers being on-board, and I'm not sure if they would do that sort of thing for free.

  • It is profits over values (Score:3)

    by Mr. Dollar Ton ( 5495648 ) on Friday October 20, 2023 @11:09PM (#63941213)

    Always has been, always will be. You may be mad as hell, and maybe you won't take it anymore, but it ain't gonna change.

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?... [youtube.com]

  • Fortunately I think Jon Stewart is a big enough name he can land something somewhere else fairly easily if he wants.

    Certainly speaks to the mans integrity though that he would stand up to Apple like this.

  • As opposed to people with nativist and inward looking views, companies like Apple HAVE to work overseas, and if you keep following the US govt kool-aid, then you will only be able to do business with Western Europe and other allies.

    Try to understand that a big part of the world actually sees the US as the big bad empire that they portray China to be and it makes sense that they ask Stewart to tone it down a bit.

    I recently saw a very insightful interview where dictatorships are defined by things you cannot c

    • Never forget that to actually force people to drink the Kool-Aid, a private enterprise - a religious cult - had to smuggle them away from the US government's jurisdiction and all the way to a concentration camp in a failed state.

    • Sounds like YOU'VE been drinking too much of the PRC's Kool-Aid, komrade.

    • As opposed to people with nativist and inward looking views, companies like Apple HAVE to work overseas, and if you keep following the US govt kool-aid, then you will only be able to do business with Western Europe and other allies.

      Try to understand that a big part of the world actually sees the US as the big bad empire that they portray China to be and it makes sense that they ask Stewart to tone it down a bit.

      It's not that China is a big bad empire, it's that Xi is an emperor who's unable to placate his

  • What was surprising was that he let AppleTV host the show to begin with. Too limited an audience amongst a library of not enough half-way decent, or better, content.

  • By getting into content creation, Apple has opened themselves up to all kinds of conflicts like this. This is only the beginning. They will inevitably neuter much of their programming, which will lower its quality of the content, and cause public relations problems for themselves. It's a lose lose proposition. They should not be in the business of producing content.

  • Conflicting interests (Score:3)

    by Andtalath ( 1074376 ) on Saturday October 21, 2023 @01:00AM (#63941381)

    This is honestly an issue with a company needing to integrate loads of different interests over a huge conglomerate.

    Everything they do need to be globally safe or it will cost too much in other places.

    Of course Apple needs to keep it's head down in China.
    Not only is it a HUUUGE market* but it's also where they manufacture most of their stuff.
    Prices would probably be 30%-50% larger without China and setting up a logistical chain handling all that manufacturing could take decades, which even apple couldn't eat up the cost off.

    So, apple-branded media company NEEDS to accept China, or at least, they need to as long as Americans don't lash back.

    Otoh, large media companies are already very afraid of China, so, well, the issue is probably all international businesses.

    * (second only to US and Europe) https://www.statista.com/stati... [statista.com]

    • Re: (Score:2)

      by haruchai ( 17472 )

      Next up: India. So knobgobbling Xi is good practice

    • Re: (Score:2)

      by Kiyooka ( 738862 )

      > NEEDS to accept China
      These words really, really need to be unpacked.

      > NEEDS
      Apple can always relocate to other places, but yes it'll increase cost per unit.

      > to accept China
      "accept" is a horribly vague word to use here. There is doing business in China, and then there's betraying supposedly core corporate values to increase profits X%.

  • Did people think Apple was a democracy?! LoL

  • because if anyone knows how to make an abject apology to China, he's the man!
    https://www.youtube.com/watch?... [youtube.com]

    • J Cena invested a lot of effort into Chinese market. Learning a tough language and one misspoke was quite a setback. He over reacted but a lot of money was at stake for him. Silver lining, Cena begging forgiveness a wake up call for entertainment careful on the China market. SouthPark band in China roasted the sell out.

      • Re: (Score:2)

        by haruchai ( 17472 )

        "one misspoke was quite a setback"
        which he (apparently?) rectified with this pathetic groveling?
        His Chinese studies seems to have omitted the concept of "face" - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/... [wikipedia.org]
        I never supported the lengths to which America went to placate China just so they could have access to their slave labor force & have said for decades the West should have fully embraced Taiwan.
        But here we are & we're still kowtowing like we've been conquered

  • Except about insanely cool China.

  • Obligatory Fuck Apple, Again. (Score:4, Funny)

    by zenlessyank ( 748553 ) on Saturday October 21, 2023 @09:00AM (#63941779)

    Folks keep giving this shit hole company money then act all surprised when they do something shitty.

    For the 457th time... Fuck Apple.

  • Never threaten someone who has fuck you money and the demand to be picked by just about any media source. Apple did not hold any chips and thought it could make a bet.
  • it's always been the alignment of private wealth with everyone else.

    We can make rules to create better alignment, you know. This isn't how it has to be.

    God forbid we think about how our basic power structures should operate.
    • What specifically did he say about AI that pissed them off? Googlespace turned up thousands of articles giving detailed analysis or direct quotes about China, but I can't find anything he said one way or the other about AI.

  • Stewart has been wrong about most everything. Ironic that he gets cancelled because he was going to be right about something.

  • Oh good, another reason to add to my bag of excuses of Why I Don't Use Apple Products Ever.

  • China is a country that has effectively legalized near-slave labor. They can produce goods cheaply which companies can then sell for much higher prices in the US. If this ever gets disrupted, a lot of rich people will lose a lot of money. One day people will look back on this, horrified.

  • I guess we shouldn't be surprised. They've bent over backwards to support the Chinese government for decades.
  • This is literally what https://rumble.com/ [rumble.com] was made for.

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